SANAâA -- Coastguard and military units on Saturday arrested 115 migrants and refugees traveling in two boats. The detained are from Somalia and Ethiopia.
Shuja Mahdi, the operations director of the Coastguard, said the first boat was encountered near Mayyun island with 75 on board, 15 of them Somalis and four of them women.
Patrols of the 17th Infantry Brigade spotted the second boat carrying 23 Somalis and 17 Ethiopians off the Dubab coast, according to the state-run Saba news agency.
Zaid Alalaya, a senior public information officer at the U.N. Refugee Agency (UNHCR), said March witnessed the largest influx of migrants and refugees over the last three months.
Refugees arriving in Yemen amounted to 8,148 since the beginning of the year, over 3,000 of whom arrived in March, according to Alalalya. Over 1,000 arrived in February, he added. New refugee arrivals to Yemen numbered about 103,000 and 107,000 in 2011 and 2012 respectively, according to Alalaya. Last year, the number of refugees arriving in Yemen decreased to below 70,000.
Refugees are kept in corrective labor camps transit centers after they arrive in Yemen.
According to Colonel Abdulla Al-Zorqa, he director of the deportation department at the Immigration and Passports Authority, Ethiopians tend to face deportation because their primary motive for migrating is assumed to be related to finding work, while Somalis are granted automatic refugee status on arrival because of the conflict in Somalia.
Oh, there's one other distinction, isn't there...
According to Alalaya, Yemen is a transit country for the refugees who migrate to neighboring countries to search for work opportunities.
According to Mahdi, migrants are held in three main detention facilities in Ahwar district of Abyan, Bab el Mandeb in Taiz and Maifaâa district of Shabwa.
Posted by: Steve White ||
04/29/2014 00:00 ||
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Posted by: Thing From Snowy Mountain ||
04/29/2014 11:58 ||
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#1
No, besides its historical need for warm-water ports Russia, to include the Russian or Russian Orthdox Church, desires a fortified bulwark or bastion in the Black Sea agz any penetration by the Soon-to-be-Nuclear, OWG Caliphate + Global Jihad happy Hard Boyz.
Pragmatically, the West + Western Judeo-
Christianity should want the same thing.
Lest we fergit, the OWG Globies want the Great POwers, espec the World's only remaining Superpower the USA, to unilaterally give up power-n-influence, etc. to Lessors in order for the later to rise to rough "parity" as heads of various Global Federal Unions.
UNFORTUNATELY, THE GLOBIES HAVE YET TO DETERMINE HOW MUCH POWER-N-INFLUENCE, ETC. CAN BE SAFELY GIVEN UP BY THE US + GREAT POWERS WIDOUT THREATENING OR DEGRADING THEIR NATIONAL OR GEOPOL SECURITY = EXISTENCE.
surprised? no.
Judicial Watch announced today that on April 18, 2014, it obtained 41 new Benghazi-related State Department documents. They include a newly declassified email showing then-White House Deputy Strategic Communications Adviser Ben Rhodes and other Obama administration public relations officials attempting to orchestrate a campaign to "reinforce" President Obama and to portray the Benghazi consulate terrorist attack as being "rooted in an Internet video, and not a failure of policy." Other documents show that State Department officials initially described the incident as an "attack" a possible kidnap attempt.
The documents were released Friday as result of a June 21, 2013, Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit filed against the Department of State (Judicial Watch v. U.S. Department of State (No. 1:13-cv-00951)) to gain access to documents about the controversial talking points used by then-UN Ambassador Susan Rice for a series of appearances on television Sunday news programs on September 16, 2012. Judicial Watch had been seeking these documents since October 18, 2012.
The Rhodes email was sent on sent on Friday, September 14, 2012, at 8:09 p.m. with the subject line: "RE: PREP CALL with Susan, Saturday at 4:00 pm ET." The documents show that the "prep" was for Amb. Rice's Sunday news show appearances to discuss the Benghazi attack.
The document lists as a "Goal" : "To underscore that these protests are rooted in and Internet video, and not a broader failure or policy."
Rhodes returns to the "Internet video" scenario later in the email, the first point in a section labeled "Top-lines":
[W]e've made our views on this video crystal clear. The United States government had nothing to do with it. We reject its message and its contents. We find it disgusting and reprehensible. But there is absolutely no justification at all for responding to this movie with violence. And we are working to make sure that people around the globe hear that message.
Among the top administration PR personnel who received the Rhodes memo were White House Press Secretary Jay Carney, Deputy Press Secretary Joshua Earnest, then-White House Communications Director Dan Pfeiffer, then-White House Deputy Communications Director Jennifer Palmieri, then-National Security Council Director of Communications Erin Pelton, Special Assistant to the Press Secretary Howli Ledbetter, and then-White House Senior Advisor and political strategist Davie Plouffe. the entire cast of clowns
The Rhodes communications strategy email also instructs recipients to portray Obama as "steady and statesmanlike" throughout the crisis. Another of the "Goals" of the PR offensive, Rhodes says, is "[T]o reinforce the President and Administration's strength and steadiness in dealing with difficult challenges." He later includes as a PR "Top-line" talking point:
I think that people have come to trust that President Obama provides leadership that is steady and statesmanlike. There are always going to be challenges that emerge around the world, and time and again, he has shown that we can meet them.
Posted by: Frank G ||
04/29/2014 15:35 ||
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#1
Seriously need the Captain Louis Renault .gif here.
#7
Brennan: No One Has Willfully Or Knowingly Disobeyed The Law Or Tried To Invade Your Civil Liberties Falsely Blame an Internet Video
Posted by: Frank G ||
04/29/2014 19:58 Comments ||
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#8
These guys would not know the truth if it was right in front of them and slapped them in the face.
No truth, no honor, no honesty. Nothing but spin and BS at a high salary. Feh.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
04/29/2014 20:20 Comments ||
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#9
White House musical chairs; Morrell, Brennan, Panetta, Petraeus, Rice, Ben Rhodes, possibly a few others. Music stops, Ben Rhodes is still standing, but he was only a mouthpiece.
Posted by: Frank G ||
04/29/2014 20:34 Comments ||
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#12
I suspect Benghazi prompted a frantic WTF moment in the WH situation room; dead Americans, clandestine weapons activity Tango-Uniform, damage control for an upcoming election, damage control for a future presidential candidate. The video was a convenient cover for action.
#13
My niece just posted one of those memes of a little girl and her dog, where she's saying 'Whatever happened in the past, it's old news. It's time to just turn the page' and she adds her comment "So true!." She lives in the DC area and no doubt gets her sustenance from the government teat.
#14
Frank G,
The non-ascii char. problem I believe occurs because whatever original font used gets converted into the font used by Rantburg before it is displayed. If I remember correctly that is font-family: Arial,Helvetica,Verdana,sans-serif;
Certain characters of some fonts appear not to be recognized by the Rantburg font engine.
Changing the font on your browser may fix the problem. Also pasting any copied text into a text file on your computer and converting the text to a different font before pasting may be necessary.
I have found that using the Arial font seems to resolve the problem.
Also if you look closely it is usually the single quote or quotation mark characters that causes the problem. I have found that re-typing any quotation marks on any pasted text usually seems to prevent the problem.
#15
good points - I'll look into it. I use FF at home, and IE at work, with the same issues, apparently. Frankly, it's embarrassing. I don't wanna screw up the RB experience
Posted by: Frank G ||
04/29/2014 22:51 Comments ||
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#16
I switched to Arial for home use on FF. I'll see if that fixes it. Thx
Posted by: Frank G ||
04/29/2014 22:53 Comments ||
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"And the secretary addressed his word use explicitly:
I have been around long enough to also know the power of words to create a misimpression, even when unintentional, and if I could rewind the tape, I would have..." A lot of that going around of recent, Secretary Kerry.
#1
I have been around long enough to also know the power of words to create a misimpression, even when unintentional, and if I could rewind the tape, I would have..."
#2
But with this regime how do you really know what they really mean? They all lie at least 66% of the time, so it's impossible to know what's a mistake and what's a lie.
Play the odds and assume their lying if they say anything reasonable.
#5
John Kerry should have been tarred and feathered and exiled to Siberia over that Vietnam stunt.
The simple fact that now the serial lair is in power and helping run the government foreign policy shows that the freedom loving country I knew is pretty must lost.
[DAWN] Maulana Samiul Haq ...the Godfather of the Taliban, leader of his own faction of the JUI. Known as Mullah Sandwich for his habit of having two young boys at a time... , the head of the Taliban negotiating team and chief of his own faction of Jamaat Ulema-e-Islam ...Assembly of Islamic Clergy, or JUI, is a Pak Deobandi (Hanafi) political party. There are two main branches, one led by Maulana Fazlur Rahman, and one led by Maulana Samiul Haq. Fazl is active in Pak politix and Sami spends more time running his madrassah. Both branches sponsor branches of the Taliban, though with plausible deniability... , has said that some forces in the country are creating what he called an 'artificial' crisis to divert government's attention from real issues.
"Sometimes these elements start a war between the army and the government and sometimes between the media and institutions," he said while addressing a public meeting held to pay tribute to late Sheikh Muhammad Ibrahim Fani at Akora Khattak on Sunday.
The meeting organised by JUI-F was also addressed by its chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman Deobandi holy man, known as Mullah Diesel during the war against the Soviets, his sympathies for the Taliban have never been tempered by honesty ... .
Maulana Sami said he and Maulana Fazl held the same view on the ongoing grinding of the peace processor between the government and Taliban. He said the government and Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistain should focus on talks instead of calling for a ceasefire.
Maulana said war would benefit no-one and those calling for military action were "enemies" of the country. He said both sides would have to exercise restraint because foreigners wanted war, and not peace, in Pakistain.
He said the media and anchorpersons were advocating war while scholars supported the grinding of the peace processor. He regretted that whenever there was progress in dialogue some elements tried to sabotage it. Both sides will be held responsible if there is a surge in hostilities.
He said the nation would have to unite to foil the designs of foreigners. There is still hope and talks between the government and Taliban committees will resume soon.
He praised the role of the army in defending the country's borders.
Maulana Fazl strongly criticised the Americans and said they regarded Islam and religious seminaries as a threat. "War is not our need; it is a need of the Americans who started a war in Afghanistan which has now engulfed not only Pakistain but the entire region."
He appealed to people to unite against the forces which wanted to destroy Islam, the country and its culture and economy.
He said people should pray for the success of the government-Taliban talks because Islam is a religion of peace and harmony. People should not brandish guns because there is no room for war in Islam.
The JUI-F chief said democracy and respect for majority decisions were basic principles of Islamic society and should not be ignored. "We will face challenges and hardships if we don't follow these principles."
The meeting adopted a resolution urging the government to include members of a jirga organised by the JUI-F some time back in the government-TTP grinding of the peace processor.
Another resolution asked the government to withdraw the Protection of Pakistain Bill from parliament and stop interfering in the affairs of religious seminaries.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/29/2014 00:00 ||
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[DAWN] Former prime minister Yousuf Raza Gilani ... Pakistain's former prime minister, whose occasional feats of mental gymnastics could be awe-inspiring ... has said that he has been in contact with the kidnappers of his son Ali Haider over the past year but they have never demanded ransom because they are interested only in securing release of some prisoners.
"They want release of certain prisoners from Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi and, according to my information, a few of them have been recently freed by the government. But it has failed to secure the release of my son, or of Shahbaz Taseer, the son of slain Punjab governor Salman Taseer, and other innocent captives in return," Mr Gilani said while talking to Dawn here on Sunday.
Criticising Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan for sharing a video of his son with the media, Mr Gilani said: "It is regrettable that the minister shared the video with the media without bringing it to my knowledge. I did not expect such an irresponsible behaviour from Chaudhry Nisar who is a friend. After receiving the video, he should have contacted me first.
"My family and I could not sleep the whole night when we learnt about the disturbing content of the video," he said.
Chaudhry Nisar said that the government had received a video showing Ali Haider in chains and saying that he was in the captivity of a group which was not under the control of the outlawed Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistain.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/29/2014 00:00 ||
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[9 views]
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[DAWN] BJP leader Narendra Modi has said if he wins the elections he would bring runaway underworld don Dawood Ibrahim to India to be tried for the 1993 blasts in Mumbai.
He told a Gujarat ...where rioting seems to be a traditional passtime... i news channel on Saturday that the previous administrations had not tried hard enough.
Dawood stands convicted in absentia in India for the blasts, together with several Mumbai accomplices. Several pro-Modi analysts, including former diplomats, are showing interest in targeting Pakistain-based holy mans and other Death Eaters allegedly involved in terror activities in India.
Mumbai's DNA newspaper said on Sunday that a former police officer, who investigated the blasts, was of the firm opinion that the don could indeed be brought to India.
He told DNA: "Modi is a man of tremendous willpower and a go-getter. These qualities are needed at the top-most level to operationalise a plan to eject Dawood out of Pakistain.
"I am not saying this as a member of the BJP, but as a professional cop who has dealt with organised crime for several years. It should not be a difficult task."
Posted by: Fred ||
04/29/2014 00:00 ||
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[9 views]
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[DAWN] Jamatud Dawa chief Hafiz Mohammad Saeed on Sunday met Difa-e-Pakistain Council chairman Maulana Samiul Haq ...the Godfather of the Taliban, leader of his own faction of the JUI. Known as Mullah Sandwich for his habit of having two young boys at a time... at his residence in Akora Khattak here, and discussed with him talks process between the government and Taliban.
Sources quoted Samiul Haq as telling Mr Saeed that the government and Taliban were showing seriousness to take the peace talks forward instead of only focusing on extending ceasefires.
"I am in contact with both the parties and next round of talks is expected to take place within two or three days," Mr Haqinformed Mr Saeed during the meeting, said the sources.
They said that Hafiz Muhammad Saeed ...who would be wearing a canvas jacket with very long sleeves anyplace but Pakistain... appreciated the role of JUI-S chief in bringing the two sides to the dialogue table.
He said that terrorist activities had come down in the country since the start of peace talks.
The sources said that both the leaders appealed to the nation to pray for thesuccess of the dialogue process.
The sources said both leaders called for harmony and trust among state institutions.
Maulana Sami and Hafiz Muhammad Saeed appreciated the government decision to delay the grant of most favourable nation status to India.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/29/2014 00:00 ||
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#1
These guys point out the problem with Pakistan.Religious intolerance.
Freedom of religion in muslim countries must be priority number one for World peace.
Posted by: Paul D ||
04/29/2014 9:10 Comments ||
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[Ynet] In wake of unity deal with Hamas, always the voice of sweet reason,, bid to join UN organizations, Israel begins to implement slew of economic sanctions against Paleostinians, day before talks set to reach deadline.
Israel has begun implementing economic sanctions against the Paleostinians, after threatening to do so in wake of their new bid to join some UN organizations and recently announced unity deal between rival Fatah and Hamas, a senior Paleostinian told Ynet Monday evening, a mere day before peace talks reach their deadline.
Israel confirmed additional sanctions Monday, saying has frozen plans to build housing for Paleostinians in Area C of the West Bank, which is under full Israeli control. An official from the Defense Ministry's administration in the Paleostinian territories said that the decision was made after the Paleostinian Authority applied to join a dozen international organizations and treaties, including the Geneva Conventions last month.
Paleostinian President the ineffectual Mahmoud Abbas ... a graduate of the prestigious unaccredited Patrice Lumumba University in Moscow with a doctorate in Holocaust Denial... signed the applications in a live televised ceremony after Israel failed to carry out the release of 26 long-term Paleostinian prisoners to which it agreed last summer as part of US brokered peace talks. The Paleostinians announced a renewed bid Sunday night, promising to join some 60 organizations.
The source further told Ynet that Israel informed the Paleostinian leadership of its intention to begin deducing debt owed by the Paleostinians from tax funds Israel collects on its behalf, as punishment for the recent moves. The news will likely further strain relations with Washington.
An Israeli official told the New York Times ...which still proudly displays Walter Duranty's Pulitzer prize... Monday evening that Israel had in the past received "a specific commitment from the American administration" backing its decision not to negotiate with any government which includes Hamas -- a group classified as terror organization by Israel, US and EU. Prime Minster Benjamin Netanyahu recently said that Hamas is planning to start a new Holocaust.
Source details sanctions
Israel collects taxes for the Paleostinian Authority worth roughly half a billion shekel a month, which includes VAT on products intended for the West Bank and Gazoo.
According to the senior Paleostinian source, Israel regularly deducts a 100 million shekel from the funds for past debts by the Paleostinians to Israel Electric Corporation which supplies the West Bank and Gazoo, and sewage services.
However, some men learn by reading. A few learn by observation. The rest have to pee on the electric fence for themselves... the source said that Israel has now raised its fixed deduction to 132 million in response to the UN bid.
The PA is facing a serious financial crisis, and the cut is expected to further threaten its cash flow. However the cut will not lead to a break down in the PA's ability to enforce the rule of law and pay salaries to its security organs and officials.
The source further said that the PA requested a monthly transfer of some $100 million from the Arab League ...an organization of Arabic-speaking states with 22 member countries and four observers. The League tries to achieve Arab consensus on issues, which usually leaves them doing nothing but a bit of grimacing and mustache cursing... , fearing Israel would further threaten economic instability.
The source claimed that Israel's announcement was passed onto Paleostinian Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah as well as a number of Paleostinian officials by Maj.-Gen. Yoav Morderchai, the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories, who refused to comment but said it acts in accordance to decision made by the political echelon.
A list of the sanctions Israel is expected to implement was also given after Israel announced it would freeze Paleostinian construction in the West Bank:
1. The authorization for installing a G3 cellular network in the West Bank would be canceled.
2. The authorization for extending the activities of Paleostinian mobile network Wataniya Mobile would be canceled.
3. No meetings at the ministerial or ministry director general level would be allowed to take place between Israelis and their Paleostinian counterparts.
4. A freeze in a program which was expected to see some 14,000 dunam in Area C turned into Paleostinian agriculture lands.
5. A freeze in deepwater drilling in the Gazoo Marine gas field.
6. A freeze in funds transfers belonging to Paleostinians in Israeli banks
7. Harming the freedom of movement enjoyed by senior Paleostinian polticians and businessmen who have a VIP pass.
Oh no!!!!!! He used the assault rifle of vocabulary!1!1! Thus, my dears, it is once again demonstrated that the American Secretary of State, the honourable John F. Kerry is, as always, The Second Smartest Man In The Room.
The secretary of state said that if Israel doesn't make peace soon, it could become 'an apartheid state,' like the old South Africa. Jewish leaders are fuming over the comparison.
If there's no two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict soon, Israel risks becoming "an apartheid state," Secretary of State John Kerry told a room of influential world leaders in a closed-door meeting Friday.
He said this on Holocaust Remembrance Day...
Senior American officials have rarely, if ever, used the term "apartheid" in reference to Israel, and President Obama has previously rejected the idea that the word should apply to the Jewish state. Kerry's use of the loaded term is already rankling Jewish leaders in America--and it could attract unwanted attention in Israel, as well.
#2
Relax, guys, it's ok. According to the U.S. State Department spokesperson, it never happened. Link
The US denies US Secretary of State John Kerry thinks Israel is an "apartheid state" but failed to deny comments attributed to him in which he insinuated Israel would become one should peace talks fail. Kerry reportedly warned foreign leaders in private discussions on Friday that Israel will risk becoming "an apartheid state."
State Department Spokeswomen Jan Psaki said "I'm not going to confirm the accuracy of comments made during a private meeting. But the secretary does not believe and did not state publicly or privately that Israel is an apartheid state. Israel is obviously a vibrant democracy with equal rights for all of its citizens."
#6
Sec. Kerry claims the criticism for his remarks is "partisan political" attacks. Not sure how Sen. Boxers comments square with that assessment but this administration uses that tired diversion like clearing their collective throat.
#7
Kerry is an Idiot is overused, he's not that good.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
04/29/2014 14:51 Comments ||
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#8
Until Israel changes the laws regarding Israeli Arabs any comparison is ignorant and insulting. Palestinians wanted a country, that means neighbors. A lot of folks in Washington seem to have problems with the concept of citizenship and neighboring countries.
#10
Actually, I agree wid Kerry in this particular instance.
The Paleos have long said that they will NOT accept any formal Govt-State where there is no physical land or territory to call their own, so unless both Egypt + Jordan are willing to give up their claims of sovereignty o'er Gaza + West Bank ala the PA, however distasteful APARTHEID may be the only realistic solution here.
The alternative is the status quo, or disestablishment of the PA.
LEST WE FERGIT, THE IDEA OF THE MUSLIM PALEOS BEING A GOVT-PEOPLE WIDOUT A COUNTRY IS ONE OF THE REASONS OSAMA BIN LADEN, ETAL. FORMED AL-QAEDA + DESIRED TO ATTACK THE USA.
"The latest information No citation - Salt .gif please?
suggests that during the Irangate affair, Washington also delivered to Tehran the equipment necessary to convert F-14s to bombers. This development implies direct military contact between Iran and the U.S., through which American officials understood the immediate strategic needs of the Iranian air force." Looks like we bought into "The enemy of my enemy is my friend."
#2
Four 500 pound bombs hardly counts as a 'heavy'.
And while the Iranians did fire Harpoons and Tomahawks and Sidewinders (and Russian clones) I cannot find any reference to any Iranian Tomcats receiving the Air to Ground mods.
At PAX River Strike our Bombcats were all the D models.
As the Philippines and the United States signed a military deal, an armed Moro militant group expressed fears over foreign military intervention in Mindanao. Abu Misry Mama, spokesman of the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF), say they are ready to defend their land against "foreign forces." He said, "We would not join the calls for the total pullout of US soldiers in the country because talking is nothing. But what is sure is that our freedom fighters will shoot any foreign forces that would try to take away our land."
The BIFF is a breakaway group of the larger Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), which recently signed a peace agreement with Manila. BIFF forces are based mainly in Maguindanao and other parts of central Mindanao.
Mama said they're not at all worried that the US government would put them on its terror list. On that list is the Abu Sayyaf group, which is behind many kidnappings in Mindanao, mainly in the provinces of Sulu and Basilan.
Mama said the BIFF is hoping that the US government will not intervene in the internal affairs of Mindanao and provoke hostilities. He said, "The BIFF will not meddle with their political agenda in Manila as long as they would not meddle with Mindanao and the Bangsamoro homeland."
He also warned the MILF to be careful in dealing with the US government considering the Americans' "long history of atrocities" in the region.
#3
They don't like the fact that someone that is not easily corrupted with money will be watching. Now how will they do all the smuggling, how will they control the rice, the logging, its just a bummer to have to try and be legit...
Posted by: 49 Pan ||
04/29/2014 11:42 Comments ||
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#4
As Pan sed, on Mindanao (and elsewhere in the P.I.,) it's who's bought and who's buyable.
That's one advantage to not having a permanent US military presence there now - you don't have the gone-native or the 'Filipino Mafia.'
Officials in the southern border provinces of Thailand are on high alert around the clock as the ten year anniversary of the Krue Se Mosque incident rolls past.
Yala Provincial Police Commander Songkiat Wathakun ordered thorough monitoring for suspected vehicles passing through checkpoints in each district. Security officials were keeping watch against all types of ambushes, and rapid response units were also made ready for tackling violent incidents that might occur on April 28, the 10th anniversary of the Krue Se incident.
In Songkhla province, security guards posted at hotels and department stores have also intensified searches for suspected vehicles. Photographs of around 10 cars reported stolen which could potentially be used as car bombs have also been posted at all security checkpoints.
[An Nahar] Military Examining Magistrate Judge Fadi Sawan issued on Monday two separate indictments calling for the death penalty against 32 suspects involved in the gunbattles in the northern city of Tripoli ...a confusing city, one end of which is located in Lebanon and the other end of which is the capital of Libya. Its chief distinction is being mentioned in the Marine Hymn...
In the first batch 18 people, including Hussein Ahmed, who is in jug, were accused of forming an gang with the purpose of carrying out terrorist activities, igniting sectarian strife and killing security forces.
The suspects also face charges for attempted murder of Lebanese soldiers.
The second group, includes 14 people -- two of whom are in jug.
Only one of them was identified as Jalal al-Hajji.
The judge issued arrest warrants against them and referred them to the permanent military court for trial.
The Lebanese army has tossed in the clink You have the right to remain silent... dozens of people on suspicion of taking part in several rounds of fighting in Tripoli, which pitted residents of the impoverished neighborhoods of Jabal Mohsen and Bab al-Tabbaneh.
The festivities are linked to the war in neighboring Syria. Jabal Mohsen residents are Alawites, the sect of Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad Terror of Aleppo ... , who is facing a Sunni uprising.
Bab al-Tabbaneh's residents are Sunnis and back the rebellion against Assad.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/29/2014 00:00 ||
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[An Nahar] Syrian Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad Horror of Homs... has registered to run in next month's presidential vote, which is expected to return him to power despite the grinding conflict, the parliament speaker announced Monday.
The election will be Syria's first multi-candidate presidential vote, after changes to the constitution, but it has already been criticized by the opposition and much of the international community as a "farce".
The government has not explained how it will hold the vote in a country gripped by a brutal war that has killed more than 150,000 people and left large swathes of territory beyond regime control.
Speaking at a session of parliament, speaker Mohammed al-Lahham read a letter from Assad announcing his candidacy.
"I, citizen Bashar Hafez Assad, wish to present my candidacy for the post of president of the republic," the document said.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/29/2014 00:00 ||
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[An Nahar] New arrest warrants were issued on Monday against Arab Democratic Party leader Ali Eid, his son Rifaat and others over their involvement in the 18th round of fighting in the northern city of Tripoli ...a confusing city, one end of which is located in Lebanon and the other end of which is the capital of Libya. Its chief distinction is being mentioned in the Marine Hymn...
"First military examining magistrate Judge Nabil Wehbe issued a third in absentia arrest warrant against the party's political relations official Rifaat Eid ...secretary general of the Leb Arab Democratic Party, a Pencilneck regime front organization... ," MTV reported.
MTV added that another 53 warrants were also issued, among them one against Ali Eid and 12 against detainees involved in the same 18th round of fighting between the rival neighborhoods of Jabal Mohsen and Bab al-Tabbaneh last November.
These warrants come as army troops and security forces continue the implementation of a security plan in the North and the Bekaa, which resulted in the arrest of dozens of runaways while many others are still on the lam, among them Ali and Rifaat Eid.
This is the third arrest warrant against Rifaat Eid, whose father Ali is accused of helping runaways behind the double blast that targeted Tripoli mosques last August escape justice.
According to Justice Minister Ashraf Rifi, Rifaat Eid had escaped to Orange County, Caliphornia, an impregnable bastion of the Democratic Party,, while Interior Minister Nouhad Mashnouq noted the party's chief Ali Eid left Leb to Syria.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/29/2014 00:00 ||
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The Pentagon plans to destroy more than $1 billion worth of ammunition although some of those bullets and missiles could still be used by troops, according to the Pentagon and congressional sources.
It's impossible to know what portion of the arsenal slated for destruction â valued at $1.2 billion by the Pentagon â remains viable because the Defense Department's inventory systems can't share data effectively, according to a Government Accountability Office report obtained by USA TODAY. The Army and Pentagon, in a statement, acknowledged "the need to automate the process" and will make it a priority in future budgets. In all, the Pentagon manages a stockpile of conventional ammunition worth $70 billion.
The effect of inaccurate accounting of ammunition for troops at war was outside the scope of the study. However, there were limited supplies at times of .50-caliber machine gun and 9mm handgun ammunition at the height of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, according to a senior military officer who spoke on condition of anonymity to talk about the issue.
The report illustrates the obsolete nature of the Pentagon's inventory systems for ammunition. A request for ammunition from the Marine Corps, for example, is e-mailed to the Army. The e-mail is printed out and manually retyped into the Army system because the services cannot share data directly. Not only is this time consuming, but it can introduce errors â by an incorrect keystroke, for example.
Waste, buying new ammunition while usable stockpiles exist, can occur "because the Army does not report information on all available and usable items," the report states. The annual conference among the services â although it saves about $70 million per year, according to the Pentagon â is inadequate. The services, in fiscal year 2012, exchanged 44 million items, including 32 million bullets for machine guns and pistols.
"Specifically, the Army's report does not include information from prior years about usable ammunition that was unclaimed by another service and stored for potential foreign military sales or slated for potential disposal," the report says.
Missiles are another source for concern, the report notes. The Army has an inventory of missiles, including Stingers, Javelins and Hellfires, that has totaled more than $14 billion in recent years. Hellfire missiles have been a weapon of choice for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and in the CIA-run Predator and Reaper drone missions to kill terrorists in places like Yemen.
The GAO found that the Army and its missile command "do not contribute to required annual report." The reason, Army officials told investigators, is that it "rarely has items to offer for redistribution."
Without its cooperation, the Army "risks others services spending additional funds to procure missiles that are already unused and usable in the Army's stockpile."
The Army, in a statement, said that it began offering that information to the other services last month.
In its recommendations, the GAO urged Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel to require the Army to make known information on all available for use by all services.
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
04/29/2014 7:29 Comments ||
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#4
The article is about accountability of stocks and inter-service transfers not really destruction. As #3 points out, they're still holding Spanish American War ammo [which BTW was transferable to veterans groups who perform gun salutes at vet funerals. The Krag-Jřrgensen is still a nice rifle.]
#6
I know when I was in the Army we destroyed ammo nearing the end of its expiration date all the time.
We used it for live fire exercises. Ammo/grenades/rockets were used and troops got training so it was win-win.
Nowdays I can see the idiots at the top just using demo to get rid of it instead of letting the troops have fun and real live experience with the stuff.
#7
My son in law former Marine worked on F-18s at Mirimar. He once ordered air refueling nozzles for F-18s and received case of Frag hand grenades. Turns out the hard part was sending them back - it is a one-way supply system - sorry no returns. Similar thing happened to me in the 70's. I was stationed at Clark AB, in 74 when we pulled the last AF Security Police out of Vietnam. Problem was all their supplies were in the pipeline and just kept coming. We shot up all the ammo at the ranges and gave the brass to the locals.
#9
I used to have a .30-40 Krag rifle. It had the smoothest bolt action I ever used. The locking lugs were subject to cracking. I hand loaded the cartridges light. Used them for deer. Checked the lugs one time and they were cracked. End of that.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
04/29/2014 20:25 Comments ||
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#10
I still have a few rounds of my grandfather's WW I .45 ACP ammo - still shoots fine, could use a bunch more.
Of course at DOD hammer & toilet seat prices $1 billion only buys a couple bricks of .22 LR, right?
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
Maulana Fazlur Rehman
The secretary of state said that if Israel doesn't make peace soon, it could become 'an apartheid state,' like the old South Africa. Jewish leaders are fuming over the comparison.
Very simply, we are aware weve become one of the most violent societies. Its not what we were, even under... apartheid.
"The latest information 
Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir 
Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir 
